ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: The Corps of Engineers (USACE) operates 541 reservoirs throughout the United States. These reservoirs serve many authorized purposes including flood control, hydropower generation, water supply, water quality, navigation, and recreation. In 1988, maintaining Drought Contingency Plans (DCPs) at USACE reservoirs was identified as an operational weakness. A major effort to develop or update the DCPs at all USACE projects was initiated and largely completed in the early 1990s. USACE is currently reviewing the status and content of the existing DCPs and determining how to best update them for greater consistency of information and to address local and global changes that have or are expected to occur in the future. This manuscript represents an initial step within this process. The plans were critically reviewed for their operational flexibility for responding to uncertainties in the progression of a drought as well as climatic changes that affect the project.
